The penultimate round of the 2026 Regional Extreme Festival, held at Red Star Raceway on 9 and 10 October, delivered action as hot as both days’ scorching temperatures.
Early drama hit Terry Wilford before the Dunlop Supercars kicked off the day’s racing program. His Ford Mustang developed a strange-sounding noise when he started it before the first race, forcing him to jump into his dad’s Ford Falcon. He brought it home in second but had no answer for championship leader Warren Lombard (Ford Mustang), who finished over 11 seconds up the road. Thomas Reib kept his championship hopes alive, bringing his Chevrolet Corvette home in third place.
In the reverse-grid second race, Wilford soon worked his way to the front. But shortly before half distance, he slowed slightly, letting Reib take the lead and hold it to the finish. Wilford’s woes continued when Lombard passed him and chased Reib. Reib just managed to hold off Lombard to take the win, with Wilford finishing a distant third in the ailing Falcon.
Richard Gerntholtz (BMW E30 M3) cruised to a comfortable Class B win in the opening BMW //M Performance Parts Race Series NA Cup heat after Ignus du Plessis was eliminated when his BMW E46 330i caught fire on the way to the grid. Andre van Vuuren (BMW E36 M3) and Olorotu Sekudu (BMW E36 M3) joined him on the podium. In Class C, Tihan van Rooyen (BMW E82 125i) got the better of Varish Ganpath (BMW E36 328i) and took the win from Karabo Malemela (BMW E46 330i), who got past Ganpath just before half-distance. Ganpath had to settle for third. Guest driver Des Bloem piloted the BMW E30 330i Touring Track Taxi to a comfortable Class D win ahead of Justin Brown (BMW E36 M3) and Craig Platt (BMW E46 330i).
A great tussle between van Vuuren and Gerntholtz in the second race ended when Gerntholtz made a late mistake, allowing Van Vuuren to take a comfortable Class B win. Gerntholtz recovered, however, and just managed to hold off Bernard De Gouveia to (BMW E46 M3) take second. Claudio Jardim (BMW E36 330i) took a lights-to-flag Class C win ahead of Malamela and Ganpath. Bloem made it two from two in Class D, taking a comfortable win from Reinhardt Miller (BMW E30 325i) and Henry Platt (BMW E36).
Despite Anton Pommersheim’s (BMW E46 M3 Turbo) best efforts, he could not prevent Lee Thompson (BMW E92 335i Turbo) from taking victory in the opening BMW M Performance Parts Race Series Turbo Cup heat. Bob Neill (BMW E92 M3 Turbo) finished third. Overnight repairs by his crew paid off when Ethan Coetzee (BMW F30 340i Turbo) took a comfortable win in Class B, ahead of Renier Smith (BMW E36 M3 Turbo) and Wessel Mostert (BMW E46 M3 Turbo). Reinhardt Miller (BMW E36 M3 Turbo) took Class C, ahead of Bennie Luyt (BMW E46 M3 Turbo) and Nicky Dicks (BMW E36 M3 Turbo). The battle between Craig Herbst (BMW E92 335i) and Johan Miller (BMW E36 325i Turbo) for Class D honours went to Miller after Herbst made a mistake. Gerald Anthony (BMW F82 M4 Turbo) followed them home in third place.
The second race, run in the mid-afternoon, became a war of attrition as the extreme heat took its toll on the turbocharged cars. Thompson took another win, this time ahead of Leon Loubser (BMW E92 M3 Turbo) and Pommersheim, who was still classified third despite not competing the full race distance. Smith finished ahead of Mostert in Class B. In one of the closest finishes of the day, Luyt took Class C from Reinhardt Miller by just 0.009”. Dicks again finished in third. Johan Miller took another Class D win, but behind him, Neil Reynolds (BMW E46 330i Turbo), who originally crossed the line in second, was penalised for a jump start, dropping him down to third and giving Herbst another second place.
As usual, there were battles all the way through the field in both the DigitFMS 111 & GT Sports & Saloons, combined with SuperHatch races. In the opening heat, Jarred Rossouw (Volkswagen Polo SupaCup) crossed the line ahead of Wayne Robb (Ford Focus ST) at the front of the GTA class, but a subsequent penalty for breaking out of the class time dropped him to second, handing the win to Robb. Mark du Toit (BMW Z4M) crossed the line third. Wayne Spicer (Volkswagen Polo) took the GTB win, finishing comfortably ahead of Richard Beningfield (TVR Chimeara).
A similar penalty to that given to Roussouw dropped Craig Priestley (VW Polo) to second in class A, handing the win to Tihan van Rooyen (BMW E82 125i). Lindsay Clur (VW Golf) finished third. Piet Potgieter (VW Golf) took Class B from Mike O’Sullivan (Honda Ballade). Troy Starr (VW Polo), Ashton Davids (Toyota Yaris GR), and Elke van Vledder (VW Golf) were the top three in Class C. A bit further back, Dhiren Ganasen (Mazda MX5) took Class E honours from Kajal Mohun (VW Golf), while Wayne Lebotschy (VW Golf) beat Mimi le Roux (VW Polo) and Thys Volskenk (Audi S2 Quattro) to take Class X. Leon Bredenkamp (Honda Civic) topped the SuperHatch category ahead of Keithen Meintjies (Renault Sandero) and Joshua du Toit (Honda Civic).
Rossouw made no mistake in the second heat, taking the GTA win from Robb and du Toit. Spicer and Beningfield finished in that order in GTB. Priestley finished ahead of van Rooyen and Clur in Class A, while O’Sullivan beat Potgieter to take Class B. Starr took another Class C win with Davids again his closest challenger. Rob Clark (Honda Ballade) ended in third. In a repeat of the first heat, Ganasen took Class E from Mohun. Lebotschy won Class X from le Roux, with Dirk Lawrence (Opel Kadett) in third. Bredenkamp claimed another SuperHatch win, this time from Ishmael Baloyi (Honda Civic) and Joshua du Toit.
The opening DOE Formula Vee Partnered With CIM Lubricants heat developed into a two-way battle between championship leader Lendl Jansen (Rhema 2) and Brandon Hills (Rhema 2). A penultimate-lap overtake gave Hills the win, with Kyle Watt (Rhema 2) coming home in third. The second race was more of the same up front, but this time Jansen was in front at the flag. A last-lap mistake by Brandon allowed his brother Vaughn (Rhema 2) into second, and Brandon had to settle for third.
Anthony Lessing (VW Polo) dominated the opening ATE VW Challenge heat, taking the win from Christopher Tait (VW Polo), who had to hold off Josh Moore (VW Polo). Sebastian Boulliart (VW Polo) was never headed on his way to the Class B victory, ahead of Keegan Nathan (VW Polo) and Keyaan Dwomoh (VW Polo). Bryce Pillay (VW Polo) led Class C, finishing comfortably ahead of Elna Croeser (VW Polo) and Stuart Konig (VW Polo).
Lessing again grabbed the lead from the start in the second heat, and took another win, with Moore and Tait swapping positions. Nathan got the better of Boulliart at the start of the second heat and went on to win Class B. Max Corbett (VW Polo) was third behind Boulliart. Nobody came close to challenging Pillay in Class C, with Croeser and Konig again his closest rivals.
The National Extreme Festival makes its way to Zwartkops Raceway next weekend (16 and 17 October) for its final round, before the Regional roster heads to the same venue to conclude its season on 20 and 21 November.